FBI Drops Bomb in San Bernardino Shooting

Syed Rizwan Farook, Tashfeen Malik were long 'radicalized'
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 7, 2015 5:51 PM CST
FBI: The Shooters Were Long 'Radicalized'
This undated combination of photos provided by the FBI, left, and the California Department of Motor Vehicles shows Tashfeen Malik, left, and Syed Farook.   (FBI, left, and California Department of Motor Vehicles via AP)

The husband-and-wife team that murdered 14 people in San Bernardino, Calif., last week had apparently been "radicalized" for a good while, the New York Times reports. "We believe that both subjects were radicalized and for quite some time," says FBI assistant director David Bowdich. He adds that the killers, Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, "participated in target practice in some ranges" in the Los Angeles area including "one occasion [that] happened within days of this event." But Bowdich says their path to radicalism isn't yet clear, the Guardian reports. "By whom, and where did that happen?" he asks. "And I will tell you right now we don’t know those answers at this point." In other developments:

  • The killers' "digital fingerprints"—including apparent support for ISIS on Facebook—gave them away, according to officials. Seems the pair tried and failed to wipe away their digital trail.
  • Officials are investigating Farook's friend, LA-area resident Enrique Marquez, who apparently bought two guns used by the couple, the LA Times reports. Marquez was in a mental hospital after the attack.
  • Malik recently attended a religious school in Multan, Pakistan, the New York Times reports. Called an Al Huda center, it's part of a worldwide chain that teaches conservative Islam to women. It apparently doesn't teach violence, but imparts "a strong dose of 'Muslims are destined to lead the world' and 'the corrupt West must be confronted,'" says Husain Haqqani, former Pakistani ambassador to the US.

Farook's father says he was shy and studious but "obsessed with Israel." (More shooting stories.)

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